Card and sheet feeding apparatus



Nov. 28, 1961 CARD AND SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 2, 1958 as 55 7 26 25/ 24 9 E: II l3 A-noeum P. D. HIRST Erm. 3,010,716

United States Patent 3,010,716 CARD AND SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Peter David Hirst, Stevenage, and Stanley Edwin Williams, Hitchin, England, assignors to International Computers and Tabulators Limited, London, England Filed Dec. 2, 1958, Ser. No. 777,714 Claims priority, application Great Britain Dec. 23, 1957 9 Claims. (Cl. 27144) This invention relates to apparatus for feeding record cards, sheets or the like.

Devices for feeding cards or shetts from the bottom of a stack by means of feed knives, or other feed members, which are mounted on a reciprocating carrier are well known. The knives engage and feed out the bottom card during the forward stroke of reciprocation. The stack rests upon the feed knife during the return stroke. The carrier is usually driven through a clutch so that feeding may be stopped by disengaging the clutch.

It is an object of the invention to provide a record feeding apparatus having a reciprocating record feeding member arranged to perform, alternately, a feeding stroke and a return stroke, in which the feeding member is held in a retracted position during the return stroke.

it is another object of the invention to provide means for restoring the feeding member into a record engaging position at the end of the return stroke, if a record is to be fed during the next succeeding feeding stroke, and for retaining the member in retracted position if no record is to be fed.

It is a further object of the invention to provide means for moving the feeding member between a retratced position and a record engaging position at a time when the feeding member is nearing the end of a stroke, the velocity of the feeding member in the direction of deciprocation then being relatively small.

According to the invention apparatus for feeding records from the bottom of a record stack comprises a record feeding member, means for repeatedly reciprocating the member over a forward and a return stroke, control means settabl'e to first and second positions to cause the member to move in first and second paths, respectively, during a forward stroke, the member being effective to engage and feed a record from the stock only when it is moving in the first path, and means adapted to cause the member to move in the second path only during each return stroke.

The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which,

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of a record feeding device, and

FIGURE 2 shows a modified form of feeding device.

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of a record feeding device. A stack of records 1 is held in a feeding hopper consisting of a base member 2 supported on side plates 3 of which one is shown, rear plates 4, of which one is shown, and a front member 5. The front member 5 and base 2 are shaped to form a throat 6 which allows only one record to pass at a time. A feed knife carrier 7 carries a feed knife 8, the edge of the knife being adjusted to project above the top surface of the carrier so that it advances only one record from the bottom of the stack through the throat 6 as the carrier 7 is advanced on a feeding stroke.

The carrier 7 is mounted on a link 9 by means of a pivot 19 and is urged in a clockwise direction by the action of a spring 11. The link 9 is, in turn, pivotally mounted at 12 on a support bracket 13 carried on a slider 14. A spring 15 is provided to maintain the link 9 normally in contact with a stop 16 on the bracket 13. The slider 14 runs in grooves 17 in the side plates 3 and is 3,010,716 Patented Nov. 28, 1961 oscillated from left to right and back again by a driving means including a link 18 mounted on a pivot (not shown). The link 18 has a forked end 19 engaging with a pin 20 carried by the slider 14. The link 18 is rocked by means of a connecting rod 21 driven by a rotating plate 22. The plate 22 is mounted on a shaft 23 driven in synchronism with feed rollers (not shown) which receive the record fed by the feed knife 8. Thus, a record is fed from the bottom of the stack 1 as the slider 14 is advanced from right to left. Since the slider is driven from the rotating plate, it follows that the motion imparted to the feed knife carrier 7 is approximately harmonic, that is, the carrier starts from the position shown and accelerates smoothly to its maximum speed, decelerating again until it stops momentarily at the end of the forward stroke before reversing and repeating its acceleration and deceleration on the return stroke. Thus the feed knife engages the bottom record of the stack at low speed, thus minimising damage to the records.

A projection 24 depending from the carrier 7 carries a roller 25 which is maintained in contact with a cam face, formed by the underside of the base 2, by the action of the spring 11. As the carrier I is advanced on a feeding stroke to the point at which the knife 8 engages the bottom record, the roller 25 enters a channel formed by the underside of the base 2 and a guide member 26, so that during the forward stroke the carrier follows a path conforming to this channel.

As the carrier nears the end of the forward stroke the roller 25 is moved downwards by the face 27 formed in the underside of the base, and the carrier is therefore rotated in an anticlockwise direction about the pivot 10 so that the knife 8 and the upper face of the carrier are withdrawn from contact with the record pack.

The continued movement of the slide 14 to the ieft carries the roller 25 into contact with end 28 of the guide 26. The end 28 is sufiiciently flexible to allow it to be deflected and the roller passes between it and the surface 27. The end 28 then returns to the position shown, but the roller 25 is now below it. The direction of movement of the slide 14 reverses at this point and the roller 25 starts to move upwardly along the surface 27. This brings the roller into contact with the lower side of the end 28 of the guide. Continued movement of the slide causes the roller to travel along the lower side of the guide 26. The position of the guide is such that the feed knife 8 is maintained out of contact with the bottom record of the stack 1. The roller reaches the right-hand end of the guide 26 near the end of the return stroke of the carrier and the carrier is then returned to the position shown by the action of the spring 11.

In this way, the feed knife 8 follows one path, defined by the cam surface of the base 2, in which it engages and feeds a record during the forward stroke and a different path, defined by the cam surface formed by the lower surface of the guide 26, during the return stroke. The knife has moved beyond the end of the stack before the roller clears the guide 26 so that the knife is out of contact with the stack during the whole of the return stroke.

It may be required, where data is sensed from a record for processing in a computing device, for example, to suppress the feeding of a card during one or more forward strokes. For this purpose, means are provided to retain the feeding knife and carrier in a retracted position by ensuring that the roller 25 remains in engagement with the underside of the guide 26 during a forward stroke for which card feeding is to be suppressed. An:electro magnet assembly including a coil 29, a yoke '30 and an armature 31 is secured by means of a bracket 32 to the rear plate 4. During those forward strokes on which card feeding is required the coil 29 is maintained energized, and the armature 31 remains in the upward position shown. However, if card feeding is to be suppressed, the coil 29 is de-energized during the return stroke immediately preceding the forward stroke which is to be ineffective. The armature 31 then drops, being assisted by a spring 33, and as the carrier 7 returns a face 34 on the armature engages a face 35. on the link 9. The link is thus forced to turn on its pivot 12 against the tension of the spring 15. Since the link is held from full restoration, the carrier is similarly restricted, with the result that the roller 25 is prevented from reaching the end of the guide 26 and cannot restore to the underside of the base 2. Thus, on the next feeding stroke the feed knife remains retracted.

The slide will continue to reciprocate without feeding of a record until the coil 29 is energized once again. The coil 29 can be energized or de-energized near the end of the return stroke, since it is necessary only that the armature 31 should be in the correct position when the link 9 reaches it. This feature is particularly advantageous where, for example, a record is fed and data carried by it is subjected to variable length processin in that the maximum processing time is available for each record before selection to'non-feeding operation is required in Y the event that processing of data from one record has not been completed.

Wear and damage of the records is minimised because the knife is not in contact with the stack during the return stroke. This is particularly important when relatively high feeding rates are employed. If'the knife is allowed to remain in contact during both strokes it may exert sufiicient force to slide the stack backwards and forwards in the hopper and damage the edges of the records. It is even possible for the disturbance of the stack to be sufiicient to produce a failure to feed.

In a modified form of construction (not shown) a mechanical gate member is normally disposed to form a continuation of the guide 26. The gate is connected to the armature of the electromagnet so that energization of the electromagnet coil holds the gate in this position. Under normal feeding conditions, when the coil is de-energized, the gate member is lifted by the roller 25 as the knife carrierrestores to its'starting position, and the roller is whether or not the electromagnet is energized, so that on the succeeding feeding stroke either the upper or lower part of the path is selected in dependence upon Whether a record is to be fed or not.

Selection of the feed knife position in the various embodiments takes place at the end of the return stroke when the speed of its motion in the direction of card travel is at a minimum, and the greatest time is therefore available for the selection to be performed While the knife is moving over only a short length of guide.

An alternative means for retracting the feed knife during a return stroke is shown in FIGURE 2. Asbefore, the feed knife 8 is carried by the carrier 7 which is pivotally .mounted at It on a projection 36 extending upwards from the slider 14. The carrier. is biased in a clock wise direction by the spring 11 and has a downwardly projecting member 37 carrying the roller 25; The member 37 has a latching face.38 and the slider 14 carries a latch member 39 which is pivoted at 40 and biased in an. anticlockwise direction by a spring 41. As the roller 25 follows the cam face 27 at the end of a feeding stroke the carrier is caused to move downwards and the latch member 39 engages the latching face 38 of the member 37 so that the knife and carrier are retained in the retracted position during the return stroke. An electromagnet assembly having a coil 42, a yoke 43 and an armature 44 is positioned so that if the coil is energized the armature engages the end 45 of the latching member 39 as the slider 14 returns to its original position, thereby releasing the latching member from the member 37 and allowing the knife and carrier to restore to a record-engaging position. In order to suppress a record feeding operation the coil 42 is de-energized and the armature then moves upward under the influence of a spring 46 out of the path of the latching member 39. The carrier and knife then remain latched in the retracted position throughout the allowed to returnto the underside of the base 2. When record feeding is to be suppressed, the coil is energized, and the roller is unable to lift the gate member, with the result that the carrier and knife remain retracted. This construction has the advantage that no parts are required to be moved in order to prevent feeding. 7

It will be appreciated that although the apparatus described above uses a single guide and relies upon spring tension for the feed knife to restore to the position in which it engages the record stack, it is possible to use an arrangement of guide plates having channels in which the roller 25 is positively guided over a fixed path which may, for example, resemble a flattened ellipse. in one such embodiment the roller 25 is retained by a friction device in a hole in the depending projection 24, and may be positioned to extend beyond one side or the other of the pro jection. A cam plate is mounted adjacent to each side of the projection and carries a slot which may be engaged by the roller. One plate carries a slot defining the upper part of the knife path and the other carries a slot defining the lower part. Ramps are provided in the slots to cause the roller to transfer from one side of the projection 24 to the other. Thus, during a feeding stroke the roller engages wit-h the slot corresponding to the upper part of the knife path, and the knife engages the bottom record of the pack and causes this record to be fed. Towards following feeding and return strokes.

' It will be appreciated that, in order to ensure accurate operation at veryhigh speeds, a mechanical bail may be provided to restore the armatures of the electromagnets shown in FIGURES l and 2 during a feeding stroke, so that the time taken to move the annatures when the coils are re-energized is reduced to a minimum, the energization of the coils then merely serving to retain the armatures in the positions shown.

The carrier 7 may be held against a stop by the spring 11, so that the roller need not engage the horizontal undersurface of the base 2. The carrier is retracted towards the end of the forward stroke by the roller engaging the portion 27, or a similarly shaped cam surface secured to the base.

The feed knife 8 has been shown as the kind conventionally used on punched record card feeds. It will be appreciated that the carrier 7 may carry other forms of feeding member, such as metal fingers or a rubber friction pad, suitable to the particular form of record to be fed. The term record is used in the generic sense to describe punched record cards, ledger sheets and similar sheets which are sufficiently rigid to enable them to be fed from the bottom of a stack.

We claim:

1. In apparatus for feeding records sequentially from the bottom of a stack by means of a record feeding member reciprocated through alternate forward and return strokes relative to said stack along the line of feeding, a record being fed by the engagement of the feeding member therewith during a forward stroke, control means for said record feeding member comprising a first fixed cam surface, a cam follower on said feeding member normally engaging said first cam surface to cause the feeding member to be reciprocated in a first path in which it is inoperative to engage a record, a second fixed cam surface, selection means selectively operative to move the cam follower out of engagement with said first cam surface immediately adjacent the end of a return stroke and into engagement with said second cam surface, the engagement of the cam follower by said second cam surface causing the record feeding member to move in a second path to engage and feed a record during the major part of the succeeding forward stroke and means operative to return the cam follower from the second to the first cam surface at the end of a forward stroke in said second path thereby returning the feeding member to an inoperative condition.

2. Apparatus for feeding records from the bottom of a record stack, the apparatus comprising a fixed framework, means for supporting a record stack on said framework, a record feeding member mounted for reciprocation relative to said framework beneath the record stack along the line of feeding, means for cyclically driving the record feeding member through a forward and a return stroke, means retaining said record feeding member in an inoperative retracted condition in which it is incapable of engaging a record, means for releasing the record feeding member immediately adjacent the end of a return stroke to an operative condition in which during the next succeeding forward stroke it engages the bottom record of said stack and causes feeding of said bottom record in the direction of the forward stroke said releasing means normally being inoperative, control means operable selectively at any inst-ant in the cycle to render said releasing means operative, a cam follower mechanically linked with said record feeding member and moving therewith and a cam surface rigidly located on said framework to engage the cam follower when the record feeding member is in its operative condition, said cam surface having a part engaged by the cam follower towards the end of a forward stroke to cause the cam follower to return the record feeding member to its retracted condition.

3. Apparatus for feeding records from the bottom of a record stack, the apparatus comprising a fixed framework, means for supporting a record stack on said frame- Work, a record feeding member mounted for reciprocation relative to said framework beneath the record stack along the line of feeding, means for cyclically driving the record feeding member through a forward and a return stroke, a guide surface rigidly located on the framework a cam follower mechanically linked with the record feeding member and moving therewith, said cam follower engaging with said guide surface to retain the record feeding member in a retracted inoperative condition, means for releasing the cam follower from the guide means immediately the end of a return stroke to permit the record feeding member to move into an operative condition in which during the next succeeding forward stroke it engages the bottom record of said stack and causes feeding of said bottom record in the direction of the forward stroke, said releasing means normally being inoperative, control means operable to render said releasing means operative, a cam surface rigidly located on the framework and having a part engaging the cam follower toward the end of a forward stroke with the record feeding member in the operative condition to cause the cam follower to return the record feeding member to its retracted condition.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said retaining means comprises a mechanical latch mounted to move with said record feeding member, the latch being positioned to engage and hold the record feeding member in its retracted condition whenever it is moved into it and said releasing means comprises a trip member for engaging and releasing said latch immediately adjacent the end of a return stroke, said control means being operable to move said trip member to a position in which it engages the latch.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the control means includes an electromagnet having energised and unenergised conditions and an armature having different positions according to the condition of the electromagnet, means mechanically linking the armature to said trip member so that in one of said positions it moves said trip member to its retracted position, and means for controlling the condition of the electromagnet.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the control means includes an electromagnet having energised and unenergised conditions and an armature having different positions according to the condition of the electromagnet, means linking the armature to said releasing means so that in one of said positions it prevents operation of said releasing means, and means for controlling the condition of the electromagnet.

7. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said retaining means includes a guide member engaged by said cam follower, a part of said guide member being flexible and normally bearing against the cam surface, movement of the cam follower between the cam surface and the guide member during a forward stroke forcing the flexible guide member part away from the cam surface to permit passage of the cam follower but entry of the cam follower into said passage during a return stroke being prevented by the flexible guide member part, the cam follower thus engaging the guide member during a return stroke.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 in which said guide member terminates short of the beginning of a forward stroke and the apparatus further includes a spring biasing the record feeding member to its operative position, the guide member thus permitting return of the record feeding member to its operative position under the action of said spring towards the end of a return stroke.

9. Apparatus according to claim 8 in which said control means includes a stop member movable between operative and retracted positions, the stop member when in its operative position engaging the record feeding member towards the end of a return stroke and preventing the record feeding member returning to its operative condition, the stop member remaining thus engaged until the cam follower is again engaged with outer surface of the guide member in the subsequent forward stroke.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

